PhD graduation ceremony-part2

Following previous post (http://limchoonkiat-ck.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/phd-graduation-ceremony.html), videos below showed speech by our chancellor and the moment where I received scroll.

life long learning, coursera.org

Begin to learn new knowledge beyond my technical skills, coursera offers many free and useful short courses. It's not easy though, given that you need to have commitment to do home work, spend time to attend video lecture etc.

Ten simple rules for ...

a series of open access papers maybe of interest, I got it quite a while ago, read it and find it useful. You can refer to the paper below and references there in.

http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030213

Topics of interest are such as:-

Bourne PE (2005) Ten simple rules for getting published. PLoS Comp Biol 1: e57. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0010057.

Bourne PE, Chalupa LM (2006) Ten simple rules for getting grants. PLoS Comp Biol 2: e12. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0020012.

Bourne PE, Korngreen A (2006) Ten simple rules for reviewers. PLoS Comp Biol 2: e110. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0020110.

Bourne PE, Friedberg I (2006) Ten simple rules for selecting a postdoctoral position. PLoS Comp Biol 2: e121. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0020121.

Vicens Q, Bourne PE (2007) Ten simple rules for a successful collaboration. PLoS Comp Biol 3: e44. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030044.

Bourne PE (2007) Ten simple rules for making good oral presentations. PLoS Comp Biol 3: e77. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030077.

Erren TC, Bourne PE (2007) Ten simple rules for a good poster presentation. PLoS Comp Biol 3: e102. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030102.

good luck, happy sunday

100 important questions in plant science research

I have opportunity to read a recent publication in the New Phytologist entitled "One hundred important questions facing plant science research", it is an open access paper (you can download freely from Internet without subscription) available at:

One hundred important questions facing plant science research - Grierson - 2011 - New Phytologist - Wiley Online Library: http://bit.ly/o7VC1Z

These questions are grouped into 5 categories: society, environment & adaptation, species interaction, understanding & utilizing plant cells and diversity.

From my opinion, this is a well written thought provoking paper. It addressed questions and challenges facing in plant science research, and the needs to incorporate multi disciplinary approach. There is no rocket science in this paper, no extensive used of jargon, it's readable and comprehensible to anyone who has completed pre-u biology, a-level or stpm degree.

In oriental culture, students or parents tend do choose / encourage to pursue field which are regarded as high prospect like law, medicine, accountancy,pharmacy etc. Hopefully this paper will increase our awareness on the significance of plant science research and enhance our appreciation to plants. Also, hope this paper can encourage more people to involve in plant science research (according to my previous master supervisor, only 10% bioscience researchers are involved in plant science research!)

The following questions are my favorite pick:

How do we ensure that society appreciates the full importance of plants?

How can we attract the best young minds to plant science so that they can address Grand Challenges facing humanity such as climate change, food security, and fossil fuel replacement?

How can we translate our knowledge of plant science into food security?
Which plants have the greatest potential for use as biofuels with the least effects on biodiversity, carbon footprints and food security?

How can we use plant science to prevent mal-nutrition?

How can we use knowledge of plants and their properties to improve human health?

How can we translate our knowledge of plant science into food security?

What are the best ways to control invasive species including plants, pests and pathogens?

Can we increase crop productivity without harm-ing biodiversity?

 

Hope you enjoy reading this paper;)

#PhD workshop- Writing your thesis

Attended a good workshop recently, one of the effective researcher development programmes (EDRP) offered by the university.

A 3 hour workshop is like a condense form of all PhD self-help books I have read. For books list, you can refer to a well written post by my friend at: Lulu's World - Between Ignorance and Enlightenment: Book list for PhD and PhD-to-be - http://ow.ly/4UON0

Here, I would like to share few insightful quotes from the facilitators:

"As a PhD student,you enjoy a good degree of autonomy,therefore you have to responsible to your thesis writing up& submission&not your PI"

"2 competitors,same field with impressive CV, employers prefer the one completed PhD by deadline than the one extended his/her degree."

"Competition is fierce,get ur thesis done,back to normal life,get a job&establish career,start to earn $. It's jz a beginning"

"a PhD thesis'll not change the world immediately,instead it's building up a picture like jigsaw puzzle."

Question

My tweet to deputy edu. minister, Dr.WeeKS, he yet to reply. Since there are many tweets from him regarding the JPA scholarship matter. Most tweeples asked the appeal & application procedures which is not my main interest. I would concern about the continuous monitoring efforts of the recipients, so it prompted me to send the following tweet:- 

*********
YB this may not relevant to your Q&A on JPA issues with
fellow Tweeples recently. As I received funding here, neither funded by the
gov. nor JPA, I wonder is there any measures/continuous monitoring efforts to
ensure these scholars are performing well throughout their studies? i.e. their soft
skills development in addition to academic credential. Also, any survey on
these recipients career prospects (science & engineering fields) after
their studies?

This is because I recalled there were academics critiqued poor
interview, presentation & communication skills of the scholars who went to postgraduate
scholarship application here despite of the impressive CV. Besides, some degrees
they pursued in UK are not well tailored for postgraduate research.

Of course,
these were independent cases, as I believe majority are doing well. However, we
can’t deny the significance of continuous soft skills development whether they
are getting gov. scholarship or not. After all, we hope to have students that
are capable to compete in international arena instead of “jaguh kampung”
***********

EF-English Proficiency Index (EPI): Malaysia top of the Asia

Browsed through the report downloaded from the following site:

http://www.ef-uk.co.uk/epi/ef-epi-ranking/?tc=LQ

I believe this achievement is something to be proud of, a good indicator of Malaysia Boleh.

EPI is the first evaluation of its kind that measures English proficiency of over 2 million working adults from 44 countries.

I applaud the effort to establish such index, and this is certainly a good guideline for policy makers & educators to assess the effectiveness of English policies in the nation.

However a few questions to ponder after flipped through the report:-

* How random the selection was? i.e. how diverse the professions/occupations of the respondents were? Were the test takers solely from “white collar” group? 

* Was the sample size (no. of test takers) relative to the country population?

* What’s the description/definition for moderate/low/high English proficiency? The score for Malaysia is 55.85 (high proficiency), while Hong Kong-54.44 (moderate proficiency), that’s such a small difference of 1.41, and this carries a heavy weigh that classified them into two discrete group. 

* From the report, it showed that the test was carried out online over a period of 3 years, so I wonder how valid the test was when there’s no assessor around the test takers (hmm, well maybe there was, but didn’t mentioned in the report :) )?

As stated in this report, the EPI is not an indicator of a nation academic & economic performance. Therefore bridging the gap of English proficiency between pupils/students from rural and urban areas & improving our English teaching standard (especially in Science & Math) are not a issue we should take lightly despite of the high English proficiency among working adults.

Books about PhD research

Currently I’m reading/ just finished reading the following books  about doctoral research. You can get it from Amazon book store. Also, thanks lulu ma for the book sharing :). Image of book covers are courtesy of Amazon UK website (http://www.amazon.co.uk)

 

A good review on this book from the following blog post:-

http://phdtalk.blogspot.com/2011/04/unwritten-rules-of-phd-research-gordon.html?spref=tw

 

This book provides guidance on choosing a suitable PhD/Post-Doc project, the reality of scientific research & don’t romanticize your career. How to get the best out of your project within the time period. Learn to say no, don’t please your supervisor blindly & remember in the end of your project, you’re the one responsible for your works.

 

A very good beginner guide for new PhD students or people who wish to explore more info about what research degree is. A dummy guide on how to make use of your PhD, some survival skills, how to make a good presentation,& other source alike. The nature of academia and industrial career, etc.

more & more straight-A students

Read the following tweet this morning:-

 

RT @SinChewPress: 2010年初中評估考試（PMR）成績標青，是過去4年來成績最好的一次，總共有3萬零863人考獲全科A（7.02%），比去年增加了2千675人。

it means:”Excellence 2010 PMR result, the best achievement over the past 4 years. There’re 30863 students obtained straight As (7.02%), an increase of 2675 students compared with last year”

 

I am wondering every year we're producing so many full A students from public exam. Is this a sign that we hv better students quality? Or exam is getting easier? Or ironically they are good 'exam answering machine'? How these excellence results link to their personalities, character building and mentality?

Why Study Plants?

Impressed with the launch of “Teaching Tools in Plant Biology” in one of the high-impact Plant Biology’s journals- The Plant Cell.

 

I believe most of my friends know that I am a postgraduate student in Plant Science. The first article- Why Study Plants? clearly illustrate my intention & passion to carry out studies in this area.

 

This article is written for general public, easily understandable without the excessive used of scientific jargon. You can download the article &/ power point presentation at (YouTube video is available as well):

 

http://www.plantcell.org/teachingtools/TTPB1.dtl

 

Hope you enjoy reading this interesting article. Cheers

 

Featured on the latest issue of GARNet Newsletter.

 

Featured on the latest issue of GARNet (http://www.garnetcommunity.org.uk/) Newsletter.

GARNet is a BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) sponsored network set up to support UK scientists to develop and undertake excellent research using model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. Funny comment from Prof after he read the newsletter: “You’re famous in UK Plant Science community, but your picture...face too small, windows too big..” LOL =.= haha :)

APPEAL FOR PTPTN REPAYMENT EXEMPTION (borrowers who graduated with First Class Honours)

To whom it may concern (PTPTN REPAYMENT EXEMPTION for borrowers who graduated with First Class Honours):

Please join the following group:-

Group Name: APPEAL FOR PTPTN REPAYMENT EXEMPTION

**It’s a closed group, therefore you have to sign in to your Facebook account.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_157840467593335

It's network group created for Malayisan PTPTN borrowers who graduated with First Class Honours but not entitled to loan exemption, united we stand and spell out our wish to be exempted from the loan repayment.

**The admin are compiling the names for further appeal actions.

Cheers

Introducing Donah’s Blog

I would like to draw your attention to visit the following blog of my former housemate at Glasgow, Donah from Botswana who obtained his MSc in Edu. Studies.

http://nudohn.wordpress.com/

He shared his points on various educational issues. I learnt that he has written many insightful posts on current educational issue in Botswana, a developing country in Africa, which is similar to the situation in Malaysia.

I had a good time with all my housemates at Glasgow last time. We had birthday celebration for every housemate. Feel free to read the related posts here:-

http://limchoonkiat-ck.blogspot.com/2008/12/cks-birthday-and-my-flatmates.html

http://limchoonkiat-ck.blogspot.com/2009/06/donahs-birthday.html

http://limchoonkiat-ck.blogspot.com/2009/03/eddie-birthday.html

http://limchoonkiat-ck.blogspot.com/2009/07/good-bye-gathering.html

 

We had discussed various current issues ranging from politic, religion, education economic and so on.

Feel free to read and share your views on his blog.

P/s Donah: sorry mate, I will read through your post thoroughly during the one-month vacation period (end of Aug onward), and share my views then.

The Scientific Century Report

I came across the scientific century report published by the Royal Society, The advisory group of the report is comprised of Nobel Laureates and former ministers.

The report provides suggestions to develop science as a key field for the UK’s economic growth. Six recommendations are proposed:

1. Put science and innovation at the heart if a strategy for long-term economic growth;
2. Prioritise investment in excellent people;
3. Strengthen Government’s use of science;
4. Reinforce the UK’s position as a hub for global science and innovation;
5. Better align science and innovation with global challenges;
6. Revitalise science and mathematics education.

You can download the report (76 pages) from the website--http://royalsociety.org/The-scientific-century/

I’m reading the report these days, hope to gain some insights then.

cheers

Associate status of the Higher Education Academy

I just received a good news from the university, in which I have obtained the Associate status of the UK Higher Education  Academy (AHEA).

image source: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/

I have attended 2 modules for 2 months, and then need to produce an assignment describing my teaching roles. The assignment entitled:‘Learning and teaching at university:
a critical reflection on my role.’

I have discussed three learning outcomes, as follows (extracted from the LTHE assignment guideline, Education Enhancement Unit, Exeter University ):

Exeter loses top10

Exeter loses top10, I think it was over-rated last time frm my previous experience@ other uk uni. Now it's ranked 12, top dozen uni.

 

Further information about the university profile:

 

A student's guide to ... Exeter University - Times Online -  http://ow.ly/20BAb

 

Profile: University of Exeter - Times Online -  http://ow.ly/20BAX

 

Profile: The University of Exeter | Good University Guide - Times Online - http://ow.ly/20BB1

 

University Rankings League Table | The Sunday Times University Guide 2010 - Times Online - http://ow.ly/20BBg

 

As a postgraduate research student, the university reputation is not the major factor to be considered. In research career, I concern about 1) Strength of the PI 2) technical skills acquired 3) professional development & networking.

 

The following articles provided some good points on career & development in research career.

 

Are You Good Enough? | Bitesize Bio - http://ow.ly/20Byd 

 

PhD Students: Should You Switch Labs? | Bitesize Bio - http://ow.ly/20BBJ

Do You Know What You want? What is success for you?

A good article (I would strongly recommend you to read this) from Bitesize Bio.com

Although the article published on Biosciences based website, but the knowledge shared is widely applicable to everyone, regardless of what profession you are. 

Feel free to read this article at:

Do You Know What You want? | Bitesize Bio - Mozilla Firefox http://ow.ly/1xm9w

 

http://bitesizebio.com/2010/04/12/do-you-know-what-you-want/

Top 20 institutions in molecular biology and genetics

Data provided by Thomson Reuters from its Essential Science Indicators database, January 1999-October 2009

 

source: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=410342&c=1

summary of learning experience in the UK

My alma mater invited me to submit an article for their newsletter. As mentioned ages ago, that i would like to share learning experience in the UK as well as reasons to study here, and also advice to future postgraduate, students who wish to study abroad, etc. Therefore, I have decided to publish the same article here. :-p

Information about Master degree at Glasgow

Glasgow and the UK:

Why did you choose to study in the UK?

I have decided to study in a UK-based university mainly due to the strong research culture, quality of education and standard of education offered. Also, it only spent one year for me to complete a master degree here.

Why you choose to study at Glasgow/ Scotland?

Glasgow University is one of the few institutions that offer various/ diverse research areas in plant science. This university is recognised as one of the leading universities in the research and academic performances (founded in 14^th century, 4^th oldest institution in the English spoken country, top 100 universities in the world).

Also, Scotland is a lovely place that has a lot of natural sceneries, historical sites and also mixtures of modern and classical buildings. The design and architecture of these buildings are impressive. Besides, life here is relaxing, enjoyable. Glasgow is one of the big cities in the UK, and I have many opportunities to mix/ interact with people throughout the world. People here are nice, helpful.

Your course:

Why did you choose your course—plant science?

My principal research interest lies in the field of plant stress (abiotic and biotic) and the tolerance mechanisms involved. The availability of research experts in this field and also the reputation of plant science group of Glasgow University have prompted me to purse plant science master degree here. My postgraduate study at Glasgow University has provided excellent skills needed to pursue a research career in Plant Science in the future.

What’s the best thing about your course?

This course has introduced me to state-of-the-art experimental approaches and techniques that were required in my research. Further training gained through close supervision from post-docs include forward planning skills as well as design proper experiment and analysis on data obtained from the project. Also, taught modules have given details about recent advances in Plant Science. While weekly research seminars from both divisional and external speakers as well as workshops attended (literature research skills, bibliographic software trainings, etc) have developed my intellectual skills.

Meanwhile, participation in the journal club discussion, taught me presentation skills and to critically discuss findings from the journal. Similarly, research presentation allowed me to discuss project works, trigger new ideas, and improve communication skills. I also have the opportunity to discuss my research works with academic/research staffs here, which are highly regarded as expert in their field of study.

Other than carry out my own research, I also have opportunity to involve in other research projects and publish some interesting results in journals.

Recently one of the research works I involved has been accepted to be published on Plant Journal (impact factor = 6.5), journal which ranked top 10 in Plant Science category. A co-authorship in a high impact peer-review paper will be an excellent kick-start in research career.

Besides, another project I involved at Glasgow is currently being assessed; hopefully I manage to publish second paper as well.

What’s your non-academic commitment in Glasgow?

By involving myself as a volunteer in International Advisory Group, Career Service of Glasgow University, I have various opportunities to work several projects with other international students, improve communication and leadership skills. Also, I have gain various information about the study/ career opportunities in the UK, Europe and even the world.

In addition, I am a volunteer in the e-mentor programme of Glasgow’s student network. I joined e-mentor programme due to the opportunity to interact with new/ prospective students, and share my experiences as an international student here.

What would you change?

Improve English speaking skills, dare to face challenges, confident. Life as a postgraduate is challenging, my master degree at Glasgow trained me to plan and manage time effectively

What advantages will your education give you?

I am aiming to pursue a career in research and academia with special reference to evaluate the impacts of environmental stress on plant growth and tolerance mechanisms involved. I wish to focus on this aspect as environmental stress is a contributing factor to low productivity in crops and subsequently causes famine and low income among poor farmers in the developing world. An excellent master training will serve as a stepping stone for me to purse doctorate degree in the future.

About PhD at Exeter University, England, UK.

What reason prompted me to pursue research in Plant Stress Tolerance?

Global famine/ potential food insecurities in the future. The impact of environmental constraints, e.g. abiotic stress (global warming, i.e. high temperature, drought, ) and biotic stress (pathogen infections on crops) further exacerbate this problem.

Some facts:

• In developing countries

>800 million individuals short of food supply

1.3 billion people living less than USD 1 a day

• Poor farmers: expensive price of herbicide, pesticide

• Projected World human population (2050)

rise from 6.1 billion to 9.3 billion

therefore additional 50% of food production is required

* the sufficient production of crops to accommodate needs of world population in the future is under threat!!!

Therefore, understanding the mechanism of stress tolerance in plants and strategy to develop stress tolerant crop are essential to overcome a potential food crisis.

Research summary at Exeter University

Investigating protein and metabolite profiles of model plant, Arabidospsi thaliana in response to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Employ systems biology approach to integrate the resulting protein and metabolite profiles.

Systems Biology is a cutting edge study that using model and / or network to integrate interaction among biological components such as genes, metabolites, and proteins. This study involved experts from various fields such as mathematicians, engineers, bio scientists, etc.

Background of Exeter University:

· The Times Good University Guide ranks Exeter in 9th position.

· Top 5 in the UK for student satisfaction

· Times Higher Education University of the Year 2007/08 · £25 million investment in new laboratories is underway, due for completion by 2010

· The School of Biosciences received substantial funding from the University Science Strategy and now has a next-generation DNA Sequencer and instruments for metabolomics and proteomics research

Your experience & advice:

Any advice for students who wish to pursue postgraduate studies/ study abroad?

Always plan ahead, do more research and seek advice from seniors, families, friends and academician. Also, self-discipline/ motivation, and also proper ways to reduce stress/ challenges are essential.

As researcher, you can’t expect movie every time, some time you have extra academic commitment, therefore self-disciple, great motivation when encountered failure is essential.

I was an average student last time (only fulfil minimum entry requirement to my first degree). However, with the positive attitude and interest on scientific research, I managed to build strong foundation which essential for my research career now.

Remember no matter what you do: PASSION, COMMITMENT, and PROLONGED INTEREST will drive you to achieve goal.

I also shared my life in the UK in the following blogs:-

Chinese: http://limchoonkiat.blogspot.com/

English: http://limchoonkiat-ck.blogspot.com/

What are the things that you have enjoyed most about your time here?

Opportunity to meet people across the world (Africa, America, Europe, Asia, etc) knows their culture and life styles.

Strong academic culture

First time I learn how to cook myself, become independent. Opportunity to meet new friend from different courtiers, and try cuisine from their country.

Exciting opportunity travel to many great tourist sports in the UK/ Europe.

Opportunity to visit museums, art galleries which are free-of-charge

Figures:

Graduation @ UTAR, August 2008

Graduation @ Glasgow University, December 2009

References:

http://www.gla.ac.uk/about/

http://www.exeter.ac.uk/about/

website to share-Engage in Research

good revision materials for those want to recall their basic skills in science

visit the following site for more info

http://www.engageinresearch.ac.uk/